Razors are known as a bladed tool primarily used in the shaving off of unwanted body hair. Electric shavers are known as an alternative to razors for removal of hair and/or slicing hair down to the level of the skin. Such shavers are commonly used by men to remove their facial hair (such as beard, mustache and whiskers) and by women to remove their leg, underarm and other hair. Electric shavers, also known as ‘electric razors’ or ‘electric dry shavers’, commonly include of a set of oscillating or rotating blades, which are held behind a perforated metal foil that prevents the blades from coming into contact with the skin. In some designs a rotary type of shaver is used, wherein the blades are circular having a circular motion, while other shavers use oscillating blades. Blade movement is powered by a small DC motor, commonly powered by rechargeable batteries. Some electric shavers are plugged directly into an AC outlet to be powered therefrom.
FIG. 1 shows an example of an electric shaver 10 using a straight cutting mechanism. Front view 12 of the shaver 10 shows a foil 15 covering the blades, an on/off switch 16 and an enclosure 17. View 11 is a side view and view 19 is a rear view of the shaver 10. View 13 is a top view of the foil 15 which is usually in contact with the skin and the hair. View 14 is a bottom view showing a connector 18 for connecting to a power source, such as AC power 115 VAC/60 Hz (as in North America) or 220 VAC/50 Hz common in Europe. The shaver 10 parts are supported in an enclosure 17, which may be an integrally molded body frame. The casing enclosing the frame and supported parts can be molded of plastic or can be a sheet metal body, or any other suitable synthetic resin material. The enclosure 17, which is commonly hand-held, is shown as a rectangular, ‘box-like’ enclosure having four walls, which is commonly used with straight cutting systems. Cylindrical cases are also known and commonly used with rotary-type electric shavers.
FIG. 2 illustrates schematically a simplified general block diagram of an electric shaver powered by a battery or cell. The battery 24 powers a DC electric motor 26, which is mechanically coupled via mechanical coupling 27 for driving power to rotate or oscillate blades included in a cutter mechanism 28, thus cutting the hair via a foil such as foil 15 shown in FIG. 1. The coupling 27 may be a shaft or a transmission gear. An on/off switch 25 (corresponding to the switch 16 in FIG. 1) allows the user to start and stop the operation of the electrical shaver. In many designs the battery 24 used is a rechargeable battery such as a nickel-cadmium battery. In such a case, a battery charger 23 employed for charging the battery while not in use. The battery charger or power supply 23 is commonly fed by domestic AC power through AC plug 21 and cord 22, and commonly includes a step-down transformer. The charging associated components, such as the charger 23, the AC plug 21, and the cable 22, are housed in a separate enclosure, and connected via a connector (such as jack socket or receptacle 18 in FIG. 1) to the electric shaver assembly, housing the electric cell or cells 24, the motor 26 and the cutting mechanism 28). In the case of only AC-powered shavers (without battery), the battery 24 is not used and the power supply 23 directly feeds the motor 26.
Good visibility of the skin surface involved with the shaving is essential for quick, convenient, easy and effective shaving. In many cases, such as in a facial shaving, direct eye-contact during shaving cannot be made, and a mirror needs to be used. However, a mirror may not be available in all locations. Further, in the case of a foggy or dark environment, the image in the mirror cannot be seen well. Further, the hand holding the shaver and the shaver unit itself may hide and interfere with the required image of the shaving area.
An electric shaver containing a microcomputer and display means is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,735 to Okada entitled: “Electric Shaver”. In addition, an electric shaver including a display and a light receiving means is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,988 to Momose entitled: “Electric Shaver”.
In consideration of the foregoing, it would be an advancement in the art to provide a method and system that is simple, cost-effective, faithful, reliable, has a minimum part count, minimum hardware, or uses existing and available components allowing convenient or better visualization of the skin during shaving, and in particular the shaving area. Such visualization may aid a person in determining how to adjust their shaving to produce the best shave. The shaving area refers to the skin surface area that is of interest to user for shaving, either required to be shaved, under shaving or after being shaved.
Furthermore, it would be highly advantageous to have a method and system providing a close, better and easier shaving experience by allowing a better viewing of the skin that is about to be shaved or was already shaved, preferably without the need of a mirror, under a dark environment, or under a condition where sufficient light is not provided. This will allow the user of the electric shaver to have real-time feedback on the shaving activity.